Chilaquiles with red sauce and fried egg

Chilaquiles, meaning “broken up sombrero” in one of the native Mayan languages, is a quintessential Mexican dish that you find anywhere, from humble beach cafes to five star hotel restaurants serving local cuisine.

Chilaquiles is made with fried corn tortilla triangles (or strips) that are briefly soften in red tomato or green tomatillos sauce, then topped with fried egg, queso fresco, chopped red onion, plenty of chopped cilantro (forgot to put it on before taking the pics) and a drizzle of crema (Mexican style sour cream). It is served mostly as a breakfast dish although I speak with locals who make it for dinner with more substantial toppings like shredded chicken.

Chilaquiles with red sauce

Here in Mexico we get the real tortilla chips made with fried white corn tortillas. These are not easily found outside of Mexico at least where we live and I would suggest trying to locate a Mexican store that sells them or make your own chips from white corn Mexican tortillas. The commercial tortilla chips we buy at the store simply would not do for this recipe.

I made this dish using the Mexican tomato sauce I posted earlier here. You need about 3-4 cups of sauce and if your tomatoes yielded slightly less you can add a little stock to make up the difference. The sauce should be a bit runny but not watery. If you don’t want to make a sauce you can start with a good quality prepared salsa and thin it with stock, about 3:1 proportion of salsa to stock.

I like this with sunny side up egg with runny yolk but have had it served with scrambled eggs as well. Traditional garnishes include chopped cilantro, red onion and local queso fresco. You can substitute the cheese with grated Jack, Monterey or crumbled feta cheese. If you have access to epazote use a sprig to garnish the dish.

Enjoy. Buen provecho.

Mexican red tomato sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 cups Mexican tomato sauce

up to 1 cup stock if needed to extend and thin the sauce

Two large handfuls of fried tortilla chips

1 tablespoon corn oil (or olive oil)

2 eggs

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or substitute (see above note)

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup crema or sour cream

A handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Epazote spring for garnish

Directions:

Heat the tomato sauce, adding stock as necessary for a runny stock consistency.

When the sauce comes to a slow boil add the tortilla chips and toss gently to coat them with the sauce. Turn the heat off, cover with a lid and let sit for 2-3 minutes (no more) while you cook the eggs.

Heat the oil in a skillet, break the eggs into the oil and cook sunny side up.

Spoon the tortillas into serving plates, top each with a fried egg, then add the remaining garnishes: cheese, onion, cilantro and a drizzle of crema.